Thursday, September 6, 2018

The Way of Personal Fulfillment

One of my core beliefs is that there are universal desires that reside in the hearts of all people. These desires may manifest themselves differently in our lives, but they are still the same desires.

One of these universal desires is the desire for intimacy. Each one of us crave to have friendships and other relationships where we feel accepted and valued by other people. This desire is core to who we are as humans. It is the reason God declared loneliness to be not good (Genesis 2:18).

Another desire that is common for people is the desire to have purpose. For most people throughout history this desire revealed itself in the desire to live. When every day is a struggle between life and death, there isn’t a lot of soul searching around the idea of the meaning of life. When life isn’t about daily survival we are afforded the opportunity to ponder about life and wonder if our lives have any greater purpose than mere existence. This desire morphs from the desire to live to the desire to make a difference in the world.

People want their lives to matter and to have a sense of personal fulfillment. No one wants their life to be a waste.

I believe people are doing one of two things: They are either on the pursuit to find personal fulfillment or they are looking for a way to numb the belief that their life doesn’t matter.

Spiritual formation in Christ is crucial because it is the only way to truly experience the personal fulfillment of purpose and meaning that our hearts crave.

“Jesus does not deny us personal fulfillment, but shows us the only true way to it. In him we ‘find our life.’ He would keep us from selling our birthright as creatures in God’s image - a birthright of genuine goodness, sufficiency, and power for which we are fitted by nature - for a mere bowl of soup (Genesis 25:30-31). Perhaps a little illicit sex, money, reputation, power, self-righteousness, and so forth - ‘the pleasures of sin for a season’ - or for the promise or possibility of such.”

(Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart, p. 68)

The way of Jesus is the only true path for personal fulfillment, because only Jesus can lead us to live the life God created us to live. Only Jesus can infuse our daily activities, as mundane and ordinary as they appear to be, with Kingdom importance.

When our lives are marked with love, peace, joy, gentleness, and the like (Galatians 5:22-23) we are able to experience fulfillment no matter what task or activity is before us.

The way of true personal fulfillment, to live the life we were created to live, is the path blazed by Jesus. We need to follow Jesus to experience true life!

Following Jesus is more than just believing in him and adopting a few moral principles. It is actually adopting the way Jesus lived his life. It requires doing those things which empowered Jesus to love, forgive, and to serve.

What activities empowered Jesus to live life? Jesus spent time studying Scripture, fasting, serving, and praying. Spiritual disciplines helped Jesus live life. We need to follow his example.

Following Jesus doesn’t keep us from personal fulfillment, rather it is the only way to truly experience it.